No this isn't [[GodCouple what would happen if Superman and Wonder Woman hooked up]] (which they actually did sometime after the {{New 52}}), rather this is one of the earliest manifestations of {{Shipping}}. The SuperCouple describes those pairings which intrigues and fascinates the public on an intense and obsessive level. According to TheOtherWiki the term was coined in the 1980s when interest in the pairing of Luke and Laura from ''Series/GeneralHospital'' garnered so much attention that their wedding was watched by 30 million viewers, a figure which is still the highest audience for a daytime SoapOpera in the U.S.A. This was all despite the fact that their romance began when Luke raped Laura, who was married to another man at the time.

Other Soaps, most notably ''Series/DaysOfOurLives'' quickly sought SuperCouple pairings of their own, eventually leading to a standard formula for the phenomenon that was repeated endlessly during the 1980s. For example Alice and Bob, a pair of StarCrossedLovers, would fall in love after a short period of WillTheyOrWontThey but a misunderstanding would drive them apart. One of the couple (usually Alice, but sometimes Bob and occasionally both) would then marry the RomanticFalseLead. This marriage would quickly fall apart and after some more adventures Alice and Bob would reunite and marry. Often Alice would be subjected to an attempted or actual [[RapeAsDrama rape]] along the way, usually by her husband who turned out to be a villain. These storylines, if successful, gathered high ratings and press attention for their show. Soap writers took great care to groom their next SuperCouple [[SoapWheel long before the first were concluding their arc]] in order to maintain a certain amount of UnresolvedSexualTension. This BetaCouple would then replace their previous counterparts as the show's OfficialCouple once the previous couple had gotten married.

Shortly after the SuperCouple was finally married, one or sometimes both members of the pairing usually left the show (as the actors portraying them would often attempt to use their popularity in order to pursue other opportunities). This was accomplished by either [[PutOnABus putting them on a bus]] (if both were leaving) or having one of the couple die, [[NeverFoundTheBody without a body being found]] (if only one was leaving). If both actors stayed on the show however, the writers usually did everything they could to avoid ShippingBedDeath, which meant that once again Alice and Bob would be forced to break up. Often, the whole cycle was repeated anew with Alice and Bob divorcing, (and having more shortlived marriages to other people) only to reunite again and have a second wedding...and eventually a third wedding and so on.

Eventually this formula was picked up by other genres, most notably with Ross and Rachel from ''{{Friends}}'', who resolved their WillTheyOrWontThey late in the show's second season and spent the next eight years playing out this trope (Ross even married another woman along the way, as well as marrying and divorcing Rachel at one point).

The SuperCouple is now on its way to becoming a DiscreditedTrope as audiences eventually tired of seeing their favourite supercouples getting married for the ''fourth'' time and were GenreSavvy enough to know that as long as both characters of a pairing remained on the show, then any break up would not be permanent. The rise of internet messageboards in the 1990s provided an outlet for fans of alternative pairings. These pairings [[FanPreferredCouple often become more popular than]] the show's OfficialCouple, resulting in a lot of ShipToShipCombat. Soap writers today usually prefer to use this to their advantage and even those pairings that were once thought untouchable (even the aforementioned Luke and Laura) are not immune from this. One area where the trope is still going strong, however, is with same-sex couples, as they tend to automatically get showered with attention simply due to their ground-breaking nature.

Compare OfficialCoupleOrdealSyndrome, which this usually involves.

----!!Examples:

%%Keep in mind that this trope is not the same as OfficialCouple or FanPreferredCouple; these couples need to be well-known and beloved outside of their respective fandoms, not just within them. If the show itself is niche or obscure, the couple more than likely does not qualify for this trope.

* Cliff and Nina on ''AllMyChildren''.* Steve and Betsy on ''Series/AsTheWorldTurns''.** Also, Holden and Lily, Bob and Kim, Carly and Jack, and Tom and Margo.** Luke and Noah. Their first kiss made history by becoming the first gay male kiss on American daytime television.** Or Luke and [[EnsembleDarkhorse Reid]], who became immensely popular overnight. Even the most hardcore [[PortmanteauCoupleName Nuke]] fans found themselves hoping for a [[PortmanteauCoupleName LuRe]] HappyEnding. [[spoiler: [[DeathoftheHypotenuse Tragically,]] they don't get one. Though [[BuryYourGays Reid's death]] still doesn't reunite Noah and Luke in the end]].* ''Series/DaysOfOurLives''** Bo and Hope.** Steve and Kayla.** Jack and Jennifer (It is worth noting that Jack was the RomanticFalseLead for Kayla before Kayla got together with Steve and Jack with Jennifer.)* Seth Cohen and Summer Roberts on ''Series/TheOC''* Luke and Laura on ''Series/GeneralHospital''.* Mike and Susan on ''Series/DesperateHousewives''* Chuck Bass and Blair Waldorf on ''Series/GossipGirl''.* Buffy Summers and Angel on ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' / ''Series/{{Angel}}''.** Buffy and Spike, too, although their relationship didn't run quite as [[SlapSlapKiss smoothly]].* Ross Geller and Rachel Green on ''Series/{{Friends}}'', taking WillTheyOrWontThey to decade-long absurdity.** To a lesser extent Chandler and Monica. * ''Series/OneTreeHill''** Nathan and Haley.** Lucas and Peyton.* Jim and Pam on the US version of ''Series/{{The Office|US}}''.* Sam and Diane on ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', who are generally considered the TropeCodifier for WillTheyOrWontThey and BelligerentSexualTension in the sitcom genre. Just ''try'' and count all the TV couples ever since who've been described as having a "Sam-&-Diane-type relationship".* Maddie and David on ''{{Moonlighting}}''.* Ridge and Brooke on ''The Bold And The Beautiful''.* Sheridan and Luis on ''{{Passions}}''.** Ethan and Theresa as well.* Naomi and Emily on ''Series/{{Skins}}'' - they weren't called "the nation's favourite lesbian couple" for nothing.* Throw in John Paul [=McQueen=] and Craig Dean of ''Series/{{Hollyoaks}}'', who were probably the most beloved gay SuperCouple in British television.** Another gay super couple from Hollyoaks (its a bit of a series staple by this point) would be Ste and Brendan, to the point that for a long time '[[POrtmanteauCoupleName Stendan]]' and 'Hollyoaks' were nearly synonymous to viewers. Slightly a subversion, in the sense that their relationship was always dysfunctional, they have broken up multiple times and shortly after they were reunited and got things (mostly) sorted out emotionally, Brendan left the show and is unlikely to return.* Blaine and Kurt from ''Series/{{Glee}}'' who've done for American gay teen couples what Naomily did for them in the UK.%%Please do not add Rachel and Finn without first bringing it up on the discussion page. The current discussion has concluded that they don't spark enough interest outside of the Glee fandom to qualify for this trope.* Luke and Lorelai on ''GilmoreGirls''.* Stefan and Elena from ''TheVampireDiaries''.* J.D. and Elliott on ''Series/{{Scrubs}}''. This is lampshaded by several characters who compare them to Ross and Rachel.* Ted and the Mother in ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'', although we spent nearly 8 seasons without any idea of who the latter was.** Subverted in the finale. It turns out [[spoiler:the mother is a decoy for this trope and the real Super Couple is Ted and Robin. This did not go over well with the majority of the fandom...]]* In-universe example: Katniss and Peeta are this to the people of Panem in ''Literature/TheHungerGames''. Behind the scenes, however... [[spoiler:they end up becoming one for real.]]* [[AlternateCompanyEquivalent Both Marvel and DC have one]], in the form of [[Franchise/SpiderMan Peter Parker/Mary Jane]] and [[Franchise/{{Superman}} Clark Kent/Lois Lane]] respectfully. Both couples took a ''very'' long time to hook up in the comics themselves, have had other love interests who've never been quite as popular (though, Peter and Gwen Stacy is also rather popular, but avoid becoming this due to Gwen being largely obscure to non-comic fans until recent years), and are still largely the most well-known couples in the superhero genre. DC even based [[Series/LoisAndClark an entire show]] based around their couple, and their later show ''Series/{{Smallville}}'' built them up similarly (despite originally putting Clark together with [[CreatorsPet Lana Lang]], and strong fandom love for CanonImmigrant Chloe Sullivan), while most Spider-Man adaptations frequently just use Mary Jane as his love interest.** To arguably the same level, DC also has [[Franchise/{{Batman}} Batman and Catwoman]]. Batman has more than a few love interests, but besides Talia, none have came close to Catwoman in popularity or how long they've lasted. While they've only ever briefly been together properly, the two are probably one of the most famous superhero couples (and the most well known [[DatingCatwoman Superhero/Supervillain couple]]), possibly even more beloved than the above two thanks to the lack of any DamselScrappy accusations.* Eli and Clare from {{Degrassi}} were this for a while. Unfortunately, the writers have [[ForcedMeme taken this trope so far]] that many fans have [[AbandonShipping gotten tired of the couple.]]----